an unwilling painter in the art of study

[harryjamespotter]

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Most students were not too pleased to be sent back to the year 1976, a jarring experience to be sure, but Harry was enjoying it. To be cast back after a year of Ministry regulated life and Voldemort's mind invading his dreams, it was a nice change of pace for the boy. True, he was now mistaken for a person he thought to be one of the greatest gits on the planet, but he couldn't have everything, right? Suffice to say, it was nice for him not to have to look over his shoulder every second for Umbridge, to not necessarily need to carry on with Dumbledore's Army courses. He still kept to them, of course. Even though Sirius was teaching them properly in 1976, the students had still failed to receive good Defense lessons for most of their time in Hogwarts. There also seemed to be a general consesus that Harry was a wonderful teacher. He sighed. Yes, perhaps he was, but it was absolutely draining to teach them sometimes, even with Hermione's help.

Today was one of the days where he felt the worst of the pressure. It was a Saturday morning and he had already been awake for hours--and slept for just about as many. A meeting with the members of Dumbledore's Army and finishing an essay had him awake until two in the morning, and he was awake again for Quidditch practice at five. Harry and the team from 1996 were not sure at all how they were to manage two Quidditch teams -- one from from each time period-- in every House, but somehow they managed to be the only ones on the field. Apparently the young Gryffindor Quidditch Team was considerably more dutiful than any other Team in the school. And after a rigorous two hours on the Pitch going through strategies and drills, Harry did not take the opportunity the rest of his team did to eat and then return to sleep. No, he took a quick breakfast in the Great Hall before retreating to the Library to study.

McGongagall had told him in an off chance conversation over the summer -- back when he was in the nineties and before his first run through Fifth Year -- where he had admitted to wanting a career as an Auror that his career choice would mean a lot of studying in all of his classes. He cursed silently as he hastily filled in answers to a particularly tricky Herbology assignment, wondering how the 177 Uses of Fennel in Potions and Alchemy could possibly help him fight Dark Wizards. Well, he heard a voice in his head that sounded uncannily like Hermione chide, you never know when you'll have nothing to use but fennel to save your life, and then you'll wish you'd have remembered this. He sighed as he thought back to the Devil's Snare in their First Year and relented to the Hermione-esque voice of reason in his head. Yes, alright, it was important to learn these things, but no one ever said anything about enjoying it. After all, it was seven thirty in the morning and he was running on just a few hours of sleep and a long and hard Quidditch Practice. Hermione would be proud of his diligence; when she woke up, anyway.

This was, after all, curriculum he had basically gone over once before. It seemed that, although he and the rest of the students from his time arrived later on in their Years, the Dumbledore of 1976 felt it necessary that they begin anew, or a month into the year at any rate. Although Harry felt he truly couldn't complain: although he had studied and worked harder than ever before, straining to see his OWLs done well, he had still missed a lot of information, bits and pieces falling through the cracks. As much as he hated the idea, this second run through Year Five would have him properly up to speed. Perhaps not at Hermione's level of knowledge, but hopefully enough to send him on the right track to Auror training.

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word count: 687 tags: LILY--AND I'M SURE SOME OTHERS WILL ARRIVE
template made by hay shay ! @ caution 2.0
edits and additions made by pendulum

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[lily]

Lily awoke with a scream.

She sat up in her bed quickly, her breath leaving her in small gasps, cold persperation erupting from her pores. A very distant part of her mind silently thanked Merlin that she had remembered to put silencing charms around her bed this morning. She had been having the same nightmare for awhile now, ever since the attack in Hogsmeade on Halloween. Every evening it was the same. Lily would be telling Jame-Potter that she wasn't a child, that she could protect herself, when suddenly a Death Eater would appear and point his wand at Potter and the man she had recently discovered was one of the new DADA professors. Lily, in a state of panic, would then push the boy and the man out of the way before she was struck with the Unforgivable that was meant for them. She could still feel her muscles contracting, feel the sting of a thousand needles prickling her skin. The dream always left her breathless and frightened, wishing for death so that she would never have to experience such pain again.

Lily quickly shook herself out of her stupor. It would do no good to live in that mindset. What would her parents say if they ever saw her like this, had heard the thoughts she was thinking? They would be beyond ashamed. Not only for her thoughts, however. They would be disappointed in her actions, as well. Ever since the attack, Lily had been studiously avoiding Potter, though it never really worked. Wherever she went, he always seemed to be able to find her. She hated seeing the hurt expression flit across his face any time she ignored him, but it was better than actually speaking to him. That would be more awkward than reconciling with Snape while simultaneously presenting him with a peace offering gift of shampoo, despite the fact that she knew Snape's hair wasn't in need of washing at all. Sev's hair had always been a bit on the oily side, but, contrary to how it looked, his hair was really soft, and up close his hair looked more shiny than greasy.

Shaking away thoughts of both Snape and Potter for the time being, Lily dressed herself and exited the Common Room. She couldn't find it in herself to make the travel to the Great Hall - with so many new additions as well as the loss of so many old ones - so she veered off of her natural path and decided to head toward the Library. She normally saved study sessions for the afternoon after she had recieved her homework, but there was nothing wrong with getting a few assignments over with early. That only gave her more free time when people like Potter and gang were racing to complete last minute essays.

As she entered the Library, Lily contemplated on whether she should finish her Charms or Potions essay first. Charms would take much less time, and Slughorn was always easy to please - as long as you didn't cause trouble in his class. In the end, Lily decided on finishing her Charms work first, and quickly grabbed several books she knew held excellent facts about the Bubblehead Charm and it's effects. Lily turned and made her way to her usual table, only to scowl when she saw Potter sitting there. Unable to stop herself, the redhead snapped, "What in Merlin's name do I have to do to get you to leave me alone, Potter? It's not enough that you have to stalk me everywhere els I go, now you have to ruin what little time I get to spend in the library, too?"

- tag : HARRY/Open
- notes : This is going to be fun =D
- words : 629...not my best, but...
- music : rockin' it to paramore/skillet/a couple of other amazing bands!
- outfit :
- credit : template brought to you by THE ACTRESS !. lyrics from IN THE MOURNING by PARAMORE !

[harryjamespotter]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i54.tinypic.com/2vafwqd.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 400px; height: 500px;] Harry remained focused on his work as time slowly ticked by, periodically looking up as the sound of a person walking in or past caught his ear. Occasionally he saw the librarian glance up at him suspiciously, more than likely expecting him to cause some sort of mayhem. He would sigh, shake his head when these things happened. Even in the past he couldn't get away from people assuming he would be loud in the library. Sure in his earlier years he had a way of carrying his voice there--usually because he had found some breakthrough in whatever mystery was surrounding Voldemort--at the time, but this was different. The librarian in 1976 had never met Harry before in her life, yet she watched him with a distasteful suspicion that one only would use for someone who had truly earned it. He hadn't, but he could think of someone else who had: his father. If James Potter was anything like the person he'd seen in Snape's memory all the time, he more than likely earned quite the poor reputation among the older witches and wizards in the school. And now Harry was caught up in it: he had people who hated James Potter and thought Harry Potter was insane for his claims of Voldemort's return on one side, and people who revered them on the other-though the latter was for as different reasons as the former. People liked James because he was a show off and a prick: people liked Harry because he was kind and, although entirely inadvertently, saved the Wizarding World from Voldemort's reign of terror, at least for a while. However, all wasn't unwell for the people who had returned with him to the past. It seemed their trip had established some greater basis of trust, or at least a greater willingness to trust, for his godfather, once estranged by the wizarding world, was now a professor at Hogwarts. He deserved it, too: the man spent far too much time cooped up in Grimmauld Place before. His adventurous nature needed some freedom. And perhaps Harry would soon be able to at least separate himself from his father in people's minds as well: being the center of attention was difficult enough for him before. Now, having double the attention, he couldn't imagine feeling any more overwhelmed. A harsh voice caused him to jump out of his thoughts. Oh wonderful, and there was one of the people who hated him now. He was usually much more gracious a person, but on three hours of sleep and too much energy spent that Saturday already, Harry was fuming. "Leave you alone? For Merlin's bloody sake, I'm the one who's already been sitting here for over an hour," he quickly retorted, glancing at the angered librarian and then looking at the person who had interrupted his thoughts. Lily. His eyes widened slightly, and he sat back in his seat, deflating a little. He thought he recognized that voice from somewhere. Suddenly he felt he could no longer be angry or insulted in the face of his young mother, despite her obvious confusion between him and James. Well, he couldn't blame her. He'd seen his father down the corridor the other day and felt like he was looking in a mirror. Harry sighed and laid down his quill, rubbing the spot between his eyes. "Listen, I've already had to say this one hundred times, I am not the Potter you think I am." He sighed. Well that didn't come out as well as he'd hoped. "I apologize. Look," he said, taking a bit more time to differentiate himself from James in his guilt over snapping at her. "Green eyes," he said, lowering his glasses a second, "hideous deformity," he said, flipping up the fringe of his messy black hair. Well, a bit of humor couldn't hurt the situation. "Not the droid you're looking for," he added, a bit of humor he imagined she'd understand--being a Muggleborn witch and all that. The Star Wars movies had been around a while then, right?

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word count: 688 tags: Lily/OPEN
template made by hay shay ! @ caution 2.0
edits and additions made by pendulum

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[lily]

"Leave you alone? For Merlin's bloody sake, I'm the one who's already been sitting here for over an hour," Potter quickly retorted, glancing at the angered librarian and then looking at Lily. Her jaw dropped. She had never thought Potter would actually have the nerve to snap at her like that; usually he simply smirked and asked her out on a date. As she watched the young boy's eyes widen slightly, looking remarkingly similar to an animal caught doing something naughty, Lily realized that the boy in question must be Potter. No look alike would snap at her and then look apologetic, unless Potter had threatened them with some cruel prank or something equally ridiculous.

"Listen, I've already had to say this one hundred times, I am not the Potter you think I am." The boy sighed. Lily raised a skeptical eyebrow, though she could not deny that there were a few subtle differences. The way the boy held himself was much different than that of James Potter. Potter held himself high, his stride powerful and his attitude as arrogant as a showdog's. Potter's doppleganger emanated a sense of modesty, and his eyes - They look so much like mine - seemed to beg for the exact opposite of what the real Potter wanted: to be left to his own devices. "I apologize. Look," Doppleganger said, seemingly eager to prove to the redhead that he was not, nor did he wish to be, James Potter. "Green eyes," he said, lowering his glasses a second, "hideous deformity," he added, flipping up the fringe of his messy black hair. Despite the boy's obvious attempt at humor, however, Lily gasped at the sight of the scar. A scar like that could only be the result of a powerful curse, something dark and sinister. Green eyes filling with worry for the boy she obviously did not know, yet felt extremely protective of already, Lily reached forward and touched the scar lightly with her fingertips. A strange warmth spread throughout her arm, a feeling she hadn't felt since the last time she had embraced her parents. Though she didn't love the boy in an romantic sense of the word, she already cared for him deeply, an almost maternal instinct to protect him from harm rushing through her veins. "What happened to you?" She whispered, and was surprised to hear her voice crack.

"Not the droid you're looking for," Doppleganger said, another attempt at good humor, Lily assumed. A smile pulling at the edges of her lips, Lily replied, "Obviously not. Merlin knows that the real Potter wouldn't know what a droid was." Though Lily hadn't lived in the Muggle world for a little over a year now, she had not heard much about the development of the Star Wars film. It was supposed to come out spring of 1977, but several people had been buzzing about the film for over a year, anxious to see what was sure to be the most technologically advanced film of all time. "How do you know about Star Wars? I thought the Potters were purebloods, and the film isn't even due to be in theatres for at least five or six months?"

Lily hadn't even bothered denying it to herself: she simply couldn't take her eyes off of the boy. The longer she stared, the more differences she noted between he and Potter. Potter's nose was longer, a bit more angular than this boy's, and his facial features looked softer than Potter's, who seemed to pride himself in showing off his masculine face. This boy's face was not girly by any means; his features were merely less prominent than Potter's, each feature complimenting the other and giving the boy a gentleness she had never really seen in Potter's every occasion face. The size of his head clearly wasn't as inflated by its own ego like Potter's was, and that was a plus. As Lily's green orbs caught the boy's own, she felt so many more questions than answers fill her mind. "What's your name?" She asked.

- tag : HARRY/Open
- notes : This is going to be fun =D
- words : roughly around 715
- music : rockin' it to paramore/skillet/a couple of other amazing bands!
- outfit :
- credit : template brought to you by THE ACTRESS !. lyrics from IN THE MOURNING by PARAMORE !

[harryjamespotter]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i54.tinypic.com/2vafwqd.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 400px; height: 500px;] Harry watched realization dawn on the girl's face as he revealed the differences between himself and the only Potter she knew. It was a surreal experience, and soon she showed signs of feeling the same way. There was something in the way she looked at him, not as if attracted to him sexually but more like she was absolutely fascinated, as if she'd never seen anything like him in her life. A blush crept across his cheeks as her fingertips touched the scar on his forehead. He was never one to take easily to people's attention, and this was very odd. It was as if Molly Weasley were asking the same question, except somehow he felt more connected to the red head than he ever did Mrs. Weasley. "Ah, what happened, what happened..." Harry said, sitting back in his chair. He looked down at the notes he'd been taking. What would he tell her? How close to telling her the truth, the full truth, would he go? He feared that telling her about how she died and who had did it, shd would lose hope for her future. After all, she was due to be dead in less than five years. Harry sighed. "Okay, well, Voldemort--he got his hands on some prophecy that he thought was about me, so he tried to kill me," he said, glazing over a lot of information intentionally. "And when he did, the curse rebounded--but it left this scar." He paused, guilty for lying to his mother like that. "ah, but yes, James Potter is pureblooded, but his son--me--isnt. Im sure youve noticed the extra...erm.. guests here? Well, we're SUPPOSED to be in nineteen nintey six. Sirius told me you thought he'd drunk an aging potion? Yes, well, that'd be my godfather, and that crochety old man thing is a natural. Oh and tell him how old he is, he LOVES it. My name's Harry, by the way." He bit his lower lip, staring into the girl's eyes. "So yes, erm... the Potter you expect me to be, he's..my father. I haven't had any reasons lately to be exactly proud of that," he said his voice dropping. He sounded absolutely miserable. Then he suddenly looked up at her, as if his mind had shifted to a completely different thing. "Lily, why did you laugh last year at Severus that day during your OWLs? I mean, yes, technically I know you did your best to cover it up, but it may as well have happened. And before you ask," he said, realizing he'd never even told her how he knew this, "I know this because of a... erm... rather unfortuntate visit with a pensieve. You know what those are, I figure."

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word count: 461 tags: Lily/OPEN
template made by hay shay ! @ caution 2.0
edits and additions made by pendulum

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[lily]

"Ah, what happened, what happened..." The boy said, sitting back in his chair. Lily watched patiently as he looked down at the notes he'd been taking, and sighed in unison with him. "Okay, well, Voldemort--he got his hands on some prophecy that he thought was about me, so he tried to kill me," Lily's jaw dropped as he spoke to her. She had never heard of Voldemort going after the Potters. It would have been top news here at Hogwarts if he had. She knew that Potter was a git, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be heartbroken at hearing that a Dark wizard had tried to kill a member of his family. She may strongly dislike Potter, but he wasn't heartless. "And when he did, the curse rebounded--but it left this scar." Lily growled as her suspicions concerning the scar were confirmed. "That bastard tried to kill you?" The young Gryffindor hissed, her eyes flashing murderously. How dare that monster attempt to lay a hand on this boy! "Who the bloody hell does something like that? Who in their right mind would attempt to harm a child that way? When I get my hands on that monster, I'll..." Lily trailed off suggestively, not wanting to go into such disturbing detail in front of the boy. It was pointless to feel so protective of a boy she had only just met, but she couldn't help it. Something in her heart was longing to protect this boy, to shield him from that evil man and keep him safe. "When was this?" Lily inquired, half-hoping not to recieve an answer. A part of her whispered that it would be better if she didn't know how old this young man was when he recieved that terrible scar.

"Ah, but yes, James Potter is pureblooded, but his son--me--isnt. Im sure you've noticed the extra...erm.. guests here? Well, we're SUPPOSED to be in nineteen nintey six. Sirius told me you thought he'd drunk an aging potion? Yes, well, that'd be my godfather, and that crochety old man thing is a natural. Oh and tell him how old he is, he LOVES it. My name's Harry, by the way." Lily raised an eyebrow at Harry's explanation. It was an impossible concept, generational time-travel, but it made sense. The old man she had encountered in Hogsmeade suddenly flashed in her mind, one of the new DADA professors. She had mistaken him for Black, made a scathing comment about his choice in using an aging potion for his costume...But that wasn't the only thing that had happened, was it? The way the man had looked at Potter, the way he'd said his name...It was as though the man hadn't seen the boy in a lifetime, as though he believed that the only way to see Potter again would be in his death. But if what Harry said about time-travel was true, the way Old Sirius was looking at Potter had to mean. "Your dad," Lily said, a sinking feeling enveloping her, "James. He's dead in your time, isn't he?" After a moment, Lily lifted her hand and held it out to Harry. "Lily Evans, by the way. Nice to meet you, Harry."

Lily watched Harry bite his lower lip, staring into the her eyes. "So yes, erm... the Potter you expect me to be, he's..my father. I haven't had any reasons lately to be exactly proud of that," he said his voice dropping. He sounded absolutely miserable. Lily sighed, feeling sympathy for the boy. Nothing was worse than discovering that your parents were not, indeed, as perfect as you thought they were. When Harry lifted his gaze toward her, Lily could not help but feel as though he were about to make her relive one of her worst memories. She was correct. "Lily, why did you laugh last year at Severus that day during your OWLs? I mean, yes, technically I know you did your best to cover it up, but it may as well have happened. And before you ask," he added when she opened her mouth to ask how he knew about that day, "I know this because of a... erm... rather unfortuntate visit with a pensieve. You know what those are, I figure." Lily sighed, deciding to ask Harry the simplest of her questions. "Whose memory was it? Mine, or..." Lily swallowed, "Snape's?"

Lily lowered her gaze in shame as she tried to explain to the boy the reasons behind her amusement that day. "It's childish, I know, but I was mainly amused because I'd never seen...Severus' legs before," she began, "I know it may sound strange, but I used to be very close friends with him, ever since we were eight. In all the time I'd known him, I had never even seen his legs. He always insisted on wearing trousers or school robes. Even on the hottest of days, Severus never even deigned the idea of donning shorts. I recall even swimming with him once, and he'd worn pants, then." Lily shook her head at the memory, "So, when he was dangling upside down - I really hated seeing him in such a state - it was the first time I'd ever seen them. They were so white that they could be transparent, and so...hairy," Lily bit her lip to keep from smiling. It was still amusing to think of his legs. "Anyway, it was a very stupid reason for me to be amused," she said, "He was being tortured, humiliated for Merlin's sake! And all I could focus on was why in Merlin's name would he ever be embarrassed of a pair of pale, hairy legs." Lily looked down in shame. It was the most ridiculous reason for her to laugh at her own friend's expense, and she regretted it now more than ever. "I assume you've seen the rest of the memory?" she asked, though she didn't wait for his reply, "I think Sev thought that I was laughing at what Potter was doing; that I was finding his humiliation amusing. That's why he called me...well, you know. And after that, I was just..." Lily took a deep, shaky breath, but that did not stop the lone tear from falling down her face. "I'm so ashamed of myself," she admitted, "I threw away 7 years of friendship - my best friend - away because of a stupid word."

- tag : HARRY/Open
- notes : This is going to be fun =D
- words : Somewhere around the 1000 mark =D
- music : rockin' it to paramore/skillet/a couple of other amazing bands!
- outfit :
- credit : template brought to you by THE ACTRESS !. lyrics from IN THE MOURNING by PARAMORE !

[harryjamespotter]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i54.tinypic.com/2vafwqd.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 400px; height: 500px;] Harry nodded. "Yes, he did. The Prophecy said something along the lines of two people who had defied him three times having a son who would have the ability to kill him. Well, he figured that meant me, so he decided to kill me. I was... well, let's see now..." He pulled out his hand, counting out three before shrugging. "I was a year and three months old. Hah, not often someone makes an attempt on your life when you're so young, eh? And, well, at that point you did make many attempts on his life, so I hardly doubt you'll be any different now," he added with a smile. "Ah yeah, he's dead unfortunately. Sirius has taken it the hardest, I think," he added, lowering his voice. "I figured the two were inseparable before, but now that we have managed to meet in these particular times, I've found out how right I was. Now of course Sirius' light version of his antics in school were considerably inaccurate, but I suppose every asshole needs a best mate, right? Anyway, don't be too hard on the older version of Sirius, will you? He's been through a lot after he left school and especially after my father died. He doesn't seem much like he's grown out of how he acts at school sometimes-- I know, that's bad enough even once in a while-- but he has nothing if not a legitimate reason for it. "Hey Lily," he replied, shaking her hand politely. "I can't say that I know you from my own time, but I have certainly heard enough about you." He didn't know how he would go about telling her that she married and had a child with the person she seemed to hate the most in school, and he didn't want to hint anywhere around the subject just yet. However, his eyes lingered on her face, the soft lines in it so clearly where his had come from. People told him so often that he looked so much like his father besides the eyes, but no one told him about the subtle curvatures he'd inherited from his mother. He looked over at the Care of Magical Creatures section thoughtfully as if he hadn't noticed how long he'd stared. No, he'd hardly heard anything about her until he was older. Everything was about his father or his father and mother, but never just his mother. Perhaps it was because she had so little to do with James' crowd in school? Well, Harry wanted to see things from a positive perspective, but it was so difficult now not to be upset with those people. How had they managed to be so close to her, even if it was only for a couple of years, without learning about her, or caring to share their knowledge about her with her son? He didn't care if it was their favorite color, Harry enjoyed hearing anything he could about his parents--and he thought the people he knew had known that. However, he learned more about his mother from Slughorn and Snape than he did anyone else, and that disturbed him greatly. He turned his head around again, her question pulling him back to reality. "It was Snape's memory. And I'd like to add he was not too happy when he found out I'd seen it. Not that I can blame him; I had always wondered why he hated me so much. Like I said, Sirius had a way of giving me a very light version of his and my father's behaviors at Hogwarts." Harry sighed, refraining from shaking his head at the silly behaviors of a teenage girl. "I think he might have been more embarrassed at the idea that he had been strung upside down in a manner completely out of his control in front of most of the school? I don't know much about him, but Professor Snape prides in nothing if not his cool composure, and I doubt it was any different for him in school." He looked up then, and despite himself felt his heart break a little when he saw that tear falling from her eye. "Lily," he said, standing and moving around the table to hug her, rubbing small circles in her back for a moment. "Listen, everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure he feels very guilty for calling you..erm... well, anyway," he said, pulling away and laying a hand on her shoulder. "You were friends for seven years. I bet all you two need to do is talk, you know, get a chance to both explain your sides of the story," he said pointedly, remembering his mother had a way of jumping to conclusions about Snape even when they were friends. And hopefully, if Lily took his advice seriously, he could make a difference for Snape, too. He doubted Snape would have become a Death Eater if Lily had been more supportive, harsh as that reality may be. "Just remember one thing," he said, biting his lower lip thoughtfully before continuing. "He may need more than a judgmental ear if he's to... change. For the better." He knew his words must have sounded rather cryptic, but he didn't know the extent of his move towards Voldemort at age sixteen, and he didn't know the extent of Lily's knowledge of it at the time either. And that was all something for those two to figure out together--not for Harry to expose in the blink of an eye.

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word count: 929 tags: Lily/OPEN
template made by hay shay ! @ caution 2.0
edits and additions made by pendulum

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[lily]

Harry nodded. "Yes, he did. The Prophecy said something along the lines of two people who had defied him three times having a son who would have the ability to kill him. Well, he figured that meant me, so he decided to kill me. I was... well, let's see now..." He pulled out his hand, counting out three before shrugging. Lily frowned. Hadn't Potter ever taught his son how to count without the aide of his digits? "I was a year and three months old. Hah, not often someone makes an attempt on your life when you're so young, eh? And, well, at that point you did make many attempts on his life, so I hardly doubt you'll be any different now," he added with a smile. Lily, however, could not bring herself to return the lighthearted gesture. Eyes flashing, the young Prefect said through gritted teeth, "He tried to kill you when you were just an infant?" Looking away from the boy in hopes that she could attempt to calm herself, Lily took several deep breaths. With one glance at Harry she knew it was no use. Casting a quick Muffliato - a spell Sev had invented and informed her of a year or so ago - she turned and faces the boy once more. "I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I'LL KILL THAT BASTARD!" Lily shouted, now thankful that she had remembered to cast the charm. Resisting the urge to have a full out Lily-tantrum and destroy the place, Lily simply settled for screaming at the top of her lungs. "A BABY! How on EARTH can someone be so HEARTLESS as to attempt to murder a BABY! Is he really that much of a coward?! Who would try and rid the world of an innocent child simply because they feel THREATENED by it! UGH!!!!" Lily screeched. She didn't even hardly know the boy, but she couldn't help the strong feelings being around him, and hearing his story, evoked. She wasn't even his mother, and yet she felt as though hearing of Voldemort's heartless hunt for the tiny infant was the same as hearing about the attempted murder of one of her own children.

"Ah yeah, he's dead unfortunately. Sirius has taken it the hardest, I think." Lily swallowed audibly at the news of Potter's death. She loathed him with a passion, but she'd never wanted him dead. Harry lowered his voice. "I figured the two were inseparable before, but now that we have managed to meet in these particular times, I've found out how right I was. Now of course Sirius' light version of his antics in school were considerably inaccurate, but I suppose every asshole needs a best mate, right? Anyway, don't be too hard on the older version of Sirius, will you? He's been through a lot after he left school and especially after my father died. He doesn't seem much like he's grown out of how he acts at school sometimes-- I know, that's bad enough even once in a while-- but he has nothing if not a legitimate reason for it." Lily sighed at the boy's logic. She couldn't help it, but she felt as though she and the boy almost thought alike in some ways, yet he was completely his own person. As she nodded her head and looked at him as she attempted to make her reply, she froze, focusing her line of vision until she locked her emerald eyes with Harry's own identical orbs. They were exactly the same color, the same shape, as her mother's, as her own. As she noticed this, she took into account all of the physical differences between he and Potter, and compared those features to her own. Shaking her head in denial, Lily backed away from the boy, fear and dread sinking into her very bones. "No," she whispered, "No, no, no, no, no. Not Potter. Anyone but Potter. Oh, Merlin, no..." But the truth was staring her unwaveringly in the face. If Harry Potter was from the future, and James was his father, that would mean that she...Lily swallowed. That would mean that Lily will have somehow married Potter in the future, and given birth to this boy. How could she not recognize the similarities between Harry and she? The eyes, the nose, their tempers...and, she was sure, should she get a good look at the boy's knees, they would be just as knobbly as her own had been when she was younger, just as her grandfather's had been when he was still alive. Staring at Harry, wide-eyed, she murmured, "It's not possible..."

"Hey Lily," Harry replied, shaking her hand politely. "I can't say that I know you from my own time, but I have certainly heard enough about you." Hesitantly, almost too afraid to state her worrisome question, Lily asked, "I-I'm sorry to ask you this, but...Am I dead, too, in your time?" Harry turned his head around again, her question seeming to pull him back to reality. "It was Snape's memory. And I'd like to add he was not too happy when he found out I'd seen it. Not that I can blame him; I had always wondered why he hated me so much. Like I said, Sirius had a way of giving me a very light version of his and my father's behaviors at Hogwarts." Harry sighed, and Lily could not help but cringe at the implied disappointement that sigh carried towards her specifically. "I think he might have been more embarrassed at the idea that he had been strung upside down in a manner completely out of his control in front of most of the school? I don't know much about him, but Professor Snape prides in nothing if not his cool composure, and I doubt it was any different for him in school." Lily gasped. "Professor Snape? You mean he isn't a...a D-Death Eater, in your time?" Lily was almost too astounded to believe what Harry had just told her. Did that mean...? "Does that mean that he changed his mind? That-that he decided not to join You-Know-Who after all? Harry do...did Severus and I ever make up after what happened?" She could not stop herself from asking these questions, hoping, silently praying for an answer that would give Lily hope that her best friend was still in there, somewhere, waiting for her to find him again.

"Lily," Harry said, standing and moving around the table to hug her, rubbing small circles in her back for a moment. Lily simply allowed herself to let go, to be comforted as she cried for all of those she had lost because of her own stupid existence. She lost Sev, her best friend, over a stupid altercation, her parents because they had planned on throwing a welcome home party instead of simply staying home and cuddling all night in front of the telly... There were so many things that she regretted, so many things she wished she could take back... It wasn't fair. But then again, when is life ever fair? "Listen, everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure he feels very guilty for calling you..erm... well, anyway," he said, and Lily felt greatful that he hadn't said the word, pulling away and laying a hand on her shoulder instead. "You were friends for seven years. I bet all you two need to do is talk, you know, get a chance to both explain your sides of the story," he said pointedly, causing the Gryffindor girl to look down in shame. She knew that she had been wrong, for multiple reasons, and she wanted nothing more than to have it out with Sev and be done with it, to go back to the way things used to be, before...well, before the politics of the Wizarding world popped their joyful little bubble.

"Just remember one thing," Harry said, biting his lower lip thoughtfully - much like Lily did when she was thinking of something - before continuing, "He may need more than a judgmental ear if he's to... change. For the better." Lily furrowed her brows in confusion. She thought Harry said that he had become a Hogwarts professor? Why was he being so cryptic now with all of his information? Instead of questioning him, like Lily tended to do when curious and desiring for more information than she had been given, she simply nodded. "Okay..." she murmured reluctantly, silently wishing that Harry would give her more to go on.

[[OOC: Around 1500 words =P. Sorry, got to lazy to put my thread template in lol]]

[harryjamespotter]

"You are," Harry replied simply after she'd finished her tirade and settled down enough to ask him a question. "You were my mother. Voldemort killed my father to get to you and you to get to me. I only wish you two hadn't sacrficed yourselves for me: I'm certainly not worth the lives that have been lost for me to live. people... they trust in that prophecy. I think it gives them hope that Voldemort can be destroyed--hope they wouldn't have otherwise. But I think too many people have sacrificed themselves because of it." Well, he supposed he couldn't blame young parents for defending their child and should expect no less, but the feeling of knowing someone died for you was... a hard pill to swallow.

"I'm really sorry. Everyone seems to be having fun--they married people they like, their lives were... well, normal enough--most didn't die. Of course I can't speak for poor Neville. His parents..." Harry shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts of Frank and Alice Longbottom's torture. It was not his story to tell, and Lily clearly had enough on her mind with the news she'd heard.

"Well no one ever gives me a straight answer around here, but I guess he gave you some reason to give him a chance?" Harry offered, shrugging.


00C: i hope you dont mind, but im just going to summarize the rest. I wrote it twice already and it's gotten ruined by connection problems. Anyway, he tells her how Snape became a de after they nevet made up, but that he was also working for dumbledore and feeding voldy false information. he says how few people trusted snape, but since hed looked after him for so long -- despite his obvious hatred for him--and dumbledore trusted him, harry wasone of the few who did trust snape. and he asks if she thinks its possible to change the past or the future. srry about that btw.

[lily]

"You are," Harry replied, and Lily's voice caught in her throat. "You were my mother. Voldemort killed my father to get to you and you to get to me. I only wish you two hadn't sacrficed yourselves for me: I'm certainly not worth the lives that have been lost for me to live. People... they trust in that prophecy. I think it gives them hope that Voldemort can be destroyed--hope they wouldn't have otherwise. But I think too many people have sacrificed themselves because of it." Lily couldn't believe it; this was her son. This boy, this James-Potter-Doppleganger, was her child. Stupefied, the Gryffindor Prefect reached forward, taking her son's face into her hands. "You're my son," she whispered, trying the words out. A warm ache spread through her chest at the statement, and her eyes began shining with unshed tears. "You're my son," she said again, pulling Harry to her and hugging him as tightly as she could. When she pulled away, she gestured to Harry's scar. "What happened? The night that we...well, you know. No one's been able to survive the Killing Curse before." She had only read a few theories on combating the Killing Curse in the past with Sev, all of them merely discussed in manuscripts that were more than seven hundre years old, and only a few of them seemed to be plausible enough to work. How was it possible that Harry had survived such an evil curse with nothing but a scar? She knew just by looking at him that he was a brilliant wizard, but he had only been a baby when Voldemort tried to kill him. No infant, short of possessing super-human abilities, could defend itself from a grown wizard.

"I'm really sorry. Everyone seems to be having fun--they married people they like, their lives were... well, normal enough--most didn't die. Of course I can't speak for poor Neville. His parents..." Lily, however curious she was as to who Neville was, was admittedly more curious as to Harry's upbringing. "If I died...then who raised you?" A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told Lily that she probably didn't want to know. As she studied Harry's appearance again, she noticed how skinny he was, the dark circles under his eyes...Oh, Merlin, she thought desperately, Please don't let it be Tuney that raised him.

"Well no one ever gives me a straight answer around here, but I guess he gave you some reason to give him a chance?" Harry offered, shrugging. Sighing, Lily looked down. "Well, he's been acting a bit differently this year," she replied, shrugging in turn, "He was decent on the train. And..." she trailed off, thinking of the Halloween festival. "He tried to get me to leave when the attack began, but I didn't listen," she said, "I told him not to order me around and stayed to help. Then I..." Lily shuddered, unable to go on. She had never felt the Cruciatus before that night, and she wished that she never had to experience it again.

OOC: Okay, I'm doing this back because I don't know exactly what Harry says to Lily, so I don't want to reply with actual dialogue to a statement that Harry didn't technically make. So, Lily's sad that she and Sev never made up before she died, and tells Harry how she wished Sev hadn't been dealt the hand he had, how she wished that he had never been subjected to the life of a spy and how worried she was for his safety. Lily then asks him why Sev would protect him if he hated him - she explains how she knows this by the mutual hate between Potter and Sev - and states how proud she is that he could at least remember that Harry was her son, too *so she assumes*. She says that she thinks that changing time is possible, but that there would be severe consequences due to the Butterfly Effect *real theory, not based off of the movie*. Lily then asks him that, if it was possible to change time, would he and the other time-travellers know enough to change the future for the better? It's no problem lol =]